3 years Later
by ShizukoTime
Summary: Three years after Chihiro leaves, Haku begins to miss her to the point that it hurts him. But he has also told her, in letters, that she absolutely can not come to see him. All of that changes, however, when Chihiro gets a pleading letter from Yubaba.
1. Lonliness hurts

First of all, i do not own anything in this story, except the story. none of the characters or things. Thanks.

One rainy day, the spirit was exempt of his duties due to fever, for the third day in a row, and stayed in his room. A somber mood filled the small Japanese styled room. He opened the door and

stepped out onto his balcony. Almost expecting to see the 'paper birds', as she had called them, he gazed out into the grey sky and blue shimmering ocean. The rain felt good on his face. The

combination of the falling rain and sea salt smell must've been the reason for the lazy, somber mood. The wind was blowing slightly, and was brushing his shoulder lenght hair to the side. Everything

was much quieter without her. Her effect on everyone in the bath house was still effervescent, even after three or four years; he was losing count. His fever was making everything worse. He needed

to touch something of hers; maybe it'd make him feel better. So, with that in his mind, he stood and walked to the large chest in his room.

Amongst the many things inside the chest, there were several letters with girlish handwriting addressed to himself and a small, very soft cloth bundle.

He picked it up with shaking hands and began unwrap it, already knowing what was cradled inside. Once he opened it, he grinned, tears in his eyes. 'I knew I still had it.' In his hands sat a small pink

tennis shoe.

The girl sat on her rug, letters littering the floor around her. They were all written in the same handwriting, which was neat and boyish. She looked out the window, into the rain, which was already

making puddles in her yard, near the shrine. Her hair was pulled into a tight ponytail. The letters on the floor were all on white paper, except for one, which was bright red. This one, she picked up and

put in her over-the-shoulder bag. She looked sad, no, that's not the right word. More like 'worried'. She stood from the floor and yelled out to her mother, "Mom! I'm going out!" Her mother

replied in a stressed, busy voice,"Take care, Chihiro!" And with that, she headed out the door, into the rain. In one hand, she held the stack of letters. 'I hope I'm not too late... ohhhh I hope I'm not

too late...'

"Haku? Are you feeling any better?" Yubaba said, entering the room where the boy had been lying around most of the day with yet another tray of food that she knew he wouldn't eat. He was lying on

the floor, holding the shoe. "Go away... I'm fine..." He said with a sigh and sat up. "Now, Haku", Yubaba said in a motherly concerned voice. "You need to eat. You haven't eaten in three days." He

simply looked out the window and said, "Not hungry." She noticed how pink his cheeks were. "Haku, stop being so stubborn! She wouldn't be happy to see you like this!" At this, tears came to his

eyes, but he brushed them away. "...gimme the food..." He said, in a voice so different than the one from a few years ago. 'Oh, Chihiro, please hurry...' She thought to herself 'He's miserable...'


	2. Foolish, sweet girl

Gasping hard for breath, Chihiro stopped abruptly at the entrance to the red tunnel. "The note said it was urgent..." She said, pulling the small scarlet piece of paper from her bag. She took her gaze off of the letter and returned to the large entrance. After all this time, three entire years, her feelings for this tunnel sat unchanged. As she stood in wake of the huge opening, she still felt like a lost little girl. But this time, she realized, there was nothing to lose, nothing to worry about. With this thought in her head, she took a deep breath and started into the tunnel. With every step she took, she wanted more and more to turn back. But, no, she told herself in a scolding manner, for she knew this was serious;Why else would Yubaba, of all people, summon her?

After nibbling at the bread Yubaba had brought him and taking a few sips of the water, Haku rested his head on the floor, staring out the balcony and into the rain."Why did I have to do something like that...?" He asked himself in an angry voice. He was infuriated with himself and wondered why he'd made such a stupid choice. He sat up, perhaps to quickly, and stumbled to the chest once more and pulled out one of the letters and read it aloud."Haku, why won't you let me come and see you? Safety is not an issue; I miss you. I have so many things to show you! It's been almost two years now! Please? -Chihiro." Haku glared at the letter. "Foolish, Sweet girl... You don't understand..."Haku said, almost yelling at himself. Yubaba, who was standing outside the door, realized now that she'd have to bend her own rules to keep Haku's spirit intact.

It WAS her fault, after all.

Chihiro, after reaching the other side of the tunnel, dashed across the open field and across the creek, which was flowing over and getting her red sneakers wet. Her hair stuck to her face as she hurriedly stumbled through the wet slippery grass. As she reached the top of the hill, she gasped in fury and frusrtation. The lights in the empthy city were beginning to flicker on. This made her run faster, much faster than she was already running, faster than she knew she was capable of. As she made it into the depths of the red-tinted city, she became more and more aware of the moving spirits. "Excuse me! Sorry! Sorry! I'm Sorry!" She cried as she dodged ghosts and food carts in every direction. Finally, she came to a halt, feet away from the bridge. She held her breath and walked quickly across the bridge and to the other side, where she took in a deep breath. She had made it in, undetected. "Psssst!" Chihiro looked left and right, confused. Suddenly, she was grabbed by the arm and pulled into the bushes. A hand was placed over her mouth. Once Chihiro caught sight of her kidnapper, she loosened up. Lin.


End file.
